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Rallycross icon Peter Farrell reflects on career

July 25, 2012

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At the U.S. Rallycross Series No. 2 sanctioned by Rally America held on July 21 at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., a highly decorated road racer and rally driver arrived to race after stepping away from motorsports eight years ago.

Peter Farrell, 54, from Manassas, Va., entered the rallycross series at nearly the last minute in a historic Mazda RX-7 that was used to win the 1993 IMSA Sebring SuperCar race. This particular race car was featured in Mazda's vehicle launch materials and highlighted on countless magazine covers.

The Mazda that arrived at New Jersey Motorsports Park started out as a preproduction model, chassis No. 22, which became part of a three-car Mazda factory team effort that included Farrell behind the wheel of the No. 7 Mazda RX-7. Under Farrell's ownership, the car has been used in a wide variety of racing over the years, ranging from the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb to import drag racing and now the U.S. Rallycross Series.

After a eight-year hiatus, Farrell decided to enter the U.S. Rallycross Series when his desire for racing was reawakened when he attended the New England Forest Rally a week earlier and watched rally cars slide by.

“I knew it was dangerous to watch the rally,” Farrell said. “It just stirred up emotion and I wanted to race again.”

Farrell then embarked on plans to rallycross a Subaru or Mitsubishi at round two of the four-event U.S. Rallycross Series at New Jersey Motorsports Park, but he decided instead to prepare the twin-turbo Mazda RX-7 by raising the ride height and adding the required mud flaps.

In his return to racing after eight years, Farrell placed third in the 2WD Super Class against a Swedish-prepared Porsche 996 rallycross car driven by Mikael Eriksson from Sweden and a turbocharged 2011 Ford Fiesta used primarily in Rally America stage competition by Dillon Van Way from Carencro, La.

“I'm pleased to say it felt natural,” Farrell said after the race ended. “Dillon [Van Way] in that Fiesta is aggressive and straight-up fast. You can see how Dillon put power down the entire time and how the suspension soaked up the dirt sections. This third-place trophy means a lot to me, especially since I haven't raced in eight years. I've been racing for 32 years, but I guess I can still get the job done.”

Farrell's racing résumé is very impressive. He competed in many of motorsports' iconic racing series while dabbling in a variety of different disciplines along the way. Farrell came to the United States in 1984 to compete in rally and quickly notched an SCCA ProRally win in Arkansas driving a 1980 Datsun 510 coupe previously raced by the American rally legend Jon Woodner.

Notably, European style rallycross is not alien to Farrell. His first motorsports experience happened to be in rallycross in 1976, racing against the renowned Rod Millen at a Mystery Creek event held in Hamilton, New Zealand, driving a 3.0-liter Ford Capri.

“It was my first lesson on how expensive racing is,” Farrell said, laughing.

He switched to road racing, thinking he would gain more racing support and eventually campaigned racing cars with factory support from Nissan, Saturn, Dodge, Peugeot and Mazda well into the mid-1990s. Over his career, Farrell has won 28 IMSA Series pro races and raced against notable drivers still active today, such as Peter Cunningham, Andy Pilgrim and Randy Pobst.

Farrell said his big break came in 1992, when he was awarded a contract to field the twin-turbo Mazda RX-7 in the IMSA Supercar Series. He later returned to dirt for a brief period, taking the Mazda up Pikes Peak in 1995.

“The experience was great,” Farrell said. “It was snowy, and a blizzard hit. It was just like being at a rally.”

When the IMSA Series collapsed in 1995, Farrell adapted to changing times and converted his Mazda into a drag car just as the import-drag scene exploded in 1998. In his hands, the Mazda quickly became a 9.9-secon,d 140-mph quarter-mile monster that he raced for two years.

Farrell won't be racing the Mazda RX-7 when he returns on Oct. 20 to compete in the U.S. Rallycross Series event at the New Jersey Motorsports Park, as he's decided to find a car more suited for off-track conditions. The Mazda RX-7 that Farrell raced at New Jersey Motorsports Park on the weekend of July 21 will now return to his shop, where it will be completely restored to its original 1992 IMSA livery for a historic race in the near future.